The House of Laughter, Santiago, Chile

It is not only tragedies and violence of centuries past which leaves their mark on our modern world, victims of the most recent heinous also attempt to communicate their suffering to us.

In 1973, the military authorities of Chile, under the leadership of General Pinochet, Staged a violent coup and seized power over the country. The new military government implemented extensive regression and carried out summary executions of political prisoners.

In 1977, the National Information Center was created to gather information pertaining to any possible political dissension. It established detention centers where prisoners were taken for interrogation and its methods were so secret that the locations of these centers were not known. Thousands of prisoners were tortured on account of their alleged political activities. The victims came from a broad spectrum of Chilean society and included teachers, lawyers, students, peasants, doctors and shantytown dwellers. The tortures meted out were particularly vicious. The detainees were subject to beatings, electric shocks, rape, sleep deprivation, and burns on their genitals. A large proportion of the victims "disappeared."

In the 1980s, one of the detention centers was identified. It was an ancient mansion house located on Pedro de Valdivia, close to the University of Vina del Mar. It had been given the nickname Casa de la Risa (House of Laughter) on account of the music that blared out from its interior both day and night. Prisoners were taken here and locked into small dark cells measuring no more than five square feet before the regime of torture began. The loud music drowned out their screams and many never left.